When a worker dies, Social Security can keep paying their family: a surviving spouse, an ex-spouse, children under 18 and, sometimes, dependent parents. A widow or widower who waits until their survivor full retirement age gets 100% of what the deceased was receiving, or was entitled to, including any delayed credits they'd earned. Claim at 60 and it's 71.5%. The claiming rules are also friendlier than the ones for spousal benefits. Here's how it's worked out.
Survivor benefits are paid on the deceased worker's record, so the worker needs enough work credits. For most people that's 40 credits, roughly 10 years of work, though younger workers need fewer and there's a special rule for children. Then the family member has to qualify:
There's also a one-time $255 death payment to a surviving spouse who lived with the worker, or to a child who's eligible on the record. That figure was set in 1954 and has never been raised.
Survivor benefits can start at 60, two years earlier than retirement benefits. The reduction for claiming early is spread evenly across the months between 60 and your survivor full retirement age. For anyone born in 1962 or later that's 84 months, so each month early costs about 0.339%, and the total cut at 60 is 28.5%.
Using a worker who was entitled to $2,000 a month:
| Age you claim (survivor FRA 67) | % of the worker's benefit | Monthly survivor benefit on $2,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 71.5% | $1,430 |
| 61 | 75.6% | $1,511 |
| 62 | 79.6% | $1,593 |
| 63 | 83.7% | $1,674 |
| 64 | 87.8% | $1,756 |
| 65 | 91.9% | $1,837 |
| 66 | 95.9% | $1,919 |
| 67 | 100% | $2,000 |
Amounts are rounded. Unlike your own retirement benefit, a survivor benefit doesn't grow past your survivor full retirement age, so there's nothing to gain by waiting longer on that piece.
The survivor full retirement age isn't always the same as the retirement one. It's 66 for people born 1945 to 1956, then climbs two months a year: 66 and 8 months for 1960, 66 and 10 months for 1961, and 67 for 1962 or later.
Everyone else is paid a flat percentage of the worker's full benefit, the primary insurance amount (PIA), with no age reduction:
| Survivor | % of the worker's PIA | On a $2,000 PIA |
|---|---|---|
| Widow(er) at survivor FRA or later | 100% | $2,000 |
| Widow(er) at 60 | 71.5% | $1,430 |
| Disabled widow(er), 50 to 59 | 71.5% | $1,430 |
| Widow(er) of any age caring for a child under 16 | 75% | $1,500 |
| Each eligible child | 75% | $1,500 |
| One dependent parent | 82.5% | $1,650 |
| Each of two dependent parents | 75% | $1,500 |
There's a cap on the whole family, called the family maximum, which is usually 150% to 180% of the worker's PIA. If a widow and three kids would add up to more than that, each person's check is cut proportionally. A divorced spouse's benefit doesn't count toward the cap, so it doesn't shrink anyone else's payment.
This is the part most couples don't plan for. A survivor benefit is based on what the deceased was actually getting, not just their PIA, which cuts both ways.
If they waited: delayed retirement credits carry over. A worker with a $2,000 PIA who claimed at 70 was getting $2,480 (124%). Their widow at survivor full retirement age gets $2,480, not $2,000. That's why the higher earner in a couple often holds off.
If they claimed early: there's a floor known as the widow's limit. You get the larger of what the worker was receiving or 82.5% of their PIA. Say the worker took $1,400 at 62 (70% of $2,000). At your survivor full retirement age you'd get $1,650, which is 82.5%, not $1,400. Claim earlier and your own age reduction applies instead, but only until it rises past that floor: $1,430 at 60 and $1,593 at 62, then $1,650 from about 62 and 9 months onward. Waiting beyond that point gains you nothing.
Yes, and this is where survivor benefits beat spousal ones. The deemed-filing rule, which forces you to take every benefit you're eligible for at once, doesn't apply to survivor benefits. You can't receive both in full, as Social Security pays you the higher of the two, but you can choose the order:
Ask for this explicitly when you apply. Our Social Security calculator shows your own benefit at 62, at full retirement age and at 70, which is the number you need to compare against the survivor figure.
Remarrying at 60 or later, or at 50 or later if you're getting disabled survivor benefits, doesn't affect them. Remarry before that and benefits on your late spouse's record generally stop, unless the new marriage ends.
Work is a separate issue. Before your full retirement age, the earnings test applies to survivor benefits just as it does to retirement ones, so earning above the annual limit means some benefits get withheld. We cover the limits in can you work while collecting Social Security. The Government Pension Offset, which used to cut survivor benefits for people with a non-covered public pension, was repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025.
One more thing to plan for: if the household loses one check, it loses income but not all its costs. Survivor benefits rarely replace everything. Run the life insurance needs calculator to see the gap, and the retirement calculator to check whether savings can cover it.
100% of what the deceased spouse was receiving, or was entitled to, if the widow claims at their survivor full retirement age. Claiming at 60 cuts it to 71.5%. If the deceased claimed early, the widow still gets at least 82.5% of the deceased's full benefit, provided the widow waits long enough.
Not both in full. Social Security pays whichever is higher. But you can take one first and switch to the other later, for example a survivor benefit at 60 and your own at 70, because deemed filing doesn't apply to survivor benefits.
60, or 50 if you're disabled. A widow or widower of any age who is caring for the deceased's child under 16 can get 75% of the deceased's full benefit.
Not if you remarry at 60 or later, or at 50 or later if you get disabled survivor benefits. Remarrying before then generally ends survivor benefits on the earlier spouse's record unless the new marriage ends.
Generally at least nine months, unless the death was accidental or happened in the line of military duty. A divorced spouse needs a marriage of at least 10 years, unless they're caring for the worker's child under 16.